May 2015

05/28/2015

Recent news events have indicated that some models of an Android device do not actually erase the data when you do a factory reset. That’s a problem if you want to sell or donate your device and don’t want any of your personal information to be donated too. The factory reset problem doesn’t impact every Android device, but how would you know if your data really is gone? The Verge has a simple solution to fix the problem. Make sure your phone (or other device) is encrypted first and then perform a factory reset. My obvious question is…why isn’t your phone already encrypted? Suffice to say, encryption is your friend and should be enabled on all devices, including mobile ones.

05/27/2015

Let’s face it. We grow more and more impatient when our technology is slow. That’s why we upgrade phones, computers and even cars because things take longer than we have patience for. Not to fear. Apparently, you can even speed up page loads in Firefox if you enable Tracking Protection. Tracking Protection is optional with Firefox, but tests found that it can reduce page load times by 44%. That’s a pretty good improvement.

To enable Tracking Protection in Firefox:

Type about:config in the location bar.

Hit the “I’ll be careful, I promise!” button to continue to the next step.

Scroll down to privacy.trackingprotection.enabled. (yes the list is alphabetical)

Double click the selection to change the default from disabled to enable.

05/26/2015

The Android KitKat version was previously known as Android KLP (Key Lime Pie) while the code was in development. After that, Lollipop was referenced as LMP (Lemon Meringue Pie) in AOSP code and at Google. In a departure from pie names, it appears that the new version of Android is known as MNC (Macadamia Nut Cookie). Of course, we expect the official name to be something different when the operating system gets released to be consistent with the previous different dessert names. What we do know is that the new OS will include fingerprint support and a new Photos app.

05/21/2015

Two days ago we were in Philadelphia lecturing about cloud security. One of the ways to send confidential information via e-mail is to password protect a Word document, which encrypts the contents. We mentioned that you should not include the password in the same e-mail that has the Word attachment. That comment drew a chuckle from the audience. It was pretty obvious that nobody from Uber was in the audience since they would think it is perfectly fine to send password resets in clear text. At least that’s what Naked Securityreported.

As the story goes, Isabelle Berner was taking a lot of Uber rides in the UK even though she lives in New York City and hasn’t been to the UK recently. Of course her Uber account was hacked so she immediately changed her password and notified Uber support. Shocker, but her account was hacked again. The problem is that Uber sends the reset password in plain text instead of providing a link back to its website to facilitate the reset. Apparently, Uber is the modern day manifestation of Forrest Gump’s “Stupid is as stupid does.”

05/20/2015

Back in January, Microsoft announced that Windows 10 would be a free upgrade for Windows 7 and 8.1 users. In March, Windows chief Terry Myerson reportedly said that the free upgrade would even apply to users running pirated versions of Windows. Since then, there has been a lot of sputtering and posturing about what that really means. Now we know. I guess it was a “just kidding” moment for Myerson. There will be no free upgrade for pirated copies of Windows. Apparently, Microsoft will announce some very attractive upgrade pricing that will even entice the pirates to get legal. Sure they will. I still predict that if you’re running a pirated version of Windows 7 or 8.1 the pirated version of Windows 10 will be just as cheap.

05/19/2015

Virtualization is a great technology and used by the majority of cloud providers. It enables condensing of computing resources to save space and energy and to maximize utilization. A recent security flaw has been discovered that impacts millions of virtual machines in datacenters. The bug is called “Venom” (Virtualized Environment Neglected Operations Manipulation) and has existed since 2004. The vulnerability allows someone to gain access to the hypervisor, the “heart” of the operating system that controls the virtual machines. This means that a user can have proper authority to access their VM, compromise the hypervisor and jump over to other VMs, which they are not authorized to access.

The vulnerability exists in the open-source emulator QEMU, which is used in modern virtualization platforms such as Xen, KVM and Oracle’s VirtualBox. The good news is that there is a patch available to fix the buggy code. The other good news is that the vulnerability does not exist in VMware, Microsoft Hyper-V and Bochs hypervisors.

05/18/2015

That’s the title of a new Digital Edge podcast, where Sharon and Jim interview our friend and colleague Jennifer Ellis. Jennifer explains what Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is all about and what it should really cost to get it done right. Your web presence is actually a lot more than the traditional way of thinking about SEO. Today, it’s all about a complete marketing plan. That means your website content, your inbound high quality links, social media presence, charitable activities and much more. If you’re a solo or small firm lawyer, Jennifer also has some advice for you and others on a limited budget.

05/14/2015

There are a lot of great utilities that every computer user should own. One of our favorites is WordRake. WordRake is editing software that instantly edits your writing to help make it clear and concise. WordRake jumpstarts the editing process, saving time while giving the writer confidence their documents are the best they can be. Sharon and I write a lot and have published over a dozen books and hundreds of articles. We’ve run WordRake through some of our writings that have already been edited by us and professional editors. WordRake still identified improvements. Gulp - a lot.

We are big fans. At ABA TECHSHOW a few weeks ago, Sharon and I stopped by the WordRake booth and learned that there is now a WordRake for Outlook product. Now you can improve your e-mail messages and not be limited just to Word documents. Don’t take my word for it…take it for a spin with the free trial.

05/13/2015

I’ve been involved with technology and networking since the early 1980s. OK, now you know that I’m not a recent grad of the Millennial generation. For the last 30 years, I have heard the cry that we are running out of IP addresses and need to convert to IP V6. Sorry, but I don’t buy it. Ars technicareports that we are once again going to spin off the earth’s axis if we don’t do something about the lack of IP addresses. Apparently, ARIN is being a lot more selective in distributing out subnets than it was in the past. I’m not buying the scare tactics concerning the lack of Internet Protocol address availability that seems to consume the news these days. I’ve worked for major corporations that “squirrel” IP address space and won’t release the network space for the general public. So much for doing the right thing.

05/12/2015

There has been a lot of news recently about solid state drives. Gizmodoreports the world’s first 6TB solid state drive. Wow! 6TB in a 2.5 inch form factor. The drive is not available for sale yet and we don’t even know the price. We do know that 1TB SSDs go for around $1,000 so the 6TB version will probably be more than four times more expensive than the laptop that it sits in.

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Disclaimer

This blog is intended to impart general information and does not offer specific legal advice. Use of this blog does not create an attorney-client relationship. If you require legal advice, consult an attorney.